Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MUSTARD SEED
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pronounce
MUSTARD SEED:
Say it "MUSS terd seed."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Our term mustard seed joins a list of metaphorical bits and pieces of plants and trees.
See if you can recall the others below. From top to bottom:
1. D___w__d is things or people who are useless and just get in the way, like a dead branch clinging to a tree.
2. When something n_____s you, it bothers you, as if it were a plant stinging you--or as if some other person were beating you with stinging plants.
3. A w_____ll is something helpful (usually money) that you get when you weren't expecting it, as if it were a piece of fruit that got blown right off your neighbor's tree onto your own property.
4. To get rid of something r___ and b___ch is to get rid of it completely and permanently, as if ripping it entirely out of the ground.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
Mustard is made from the ground-up seeds of the mustard plant. They're tiny:
This itty-bitty seed is mentioned a couple of times in stories from the Bible.
From the book of Matthew, here's Jesus talking:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches."
As you can see, the seed can be a symbol: it can represent a very small thing with a very large power.
Also from that same book of the Bible, Matthew, there's a story about Jesus freeing a young boy from a demon that had been possessing him. Before that, Jesus's disciples had tried the same thing and failed. Here's Jesus telling them why he could do it when they couldn't:
"Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Again, we see that the mustard seed is a symbol, or a metaphor: it's a teeny-tiny amount of something (in this case, faith or belief) that yields incredible power despite its size.
These stories aren't the only ones that use mustard seeds as metaphors; in fact, several other holy books also refer to them. They're a nearly universal metaphor for itty-bitty, teeny-tiny units of things that have the potential to grow much, much bigger.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "It's the size of a mustard seed."
Other forms:
The plural is "mustard seeds." And sometimes we hyphenate: "mustard-seed."
how to use it:
We do talk literally about mustard seeds: "Add the mustard seeds to the pan."
When we're using the term figuratively, we mostly stick with phrases like "the size of a mustard seed" or "only a mustard seed of (something)," as well as phrases that allude to the Bible stories I mentioned above, like "faith the size of a mustard seed," and "a mustard seed that moves mountains."
And sometimes we'll see "mustard seed" used as the name of a restaurant or a humanitarian organization. It's such a richly meaningful term. (And so cute! Mustard seeds are adorable!)
examples:
"Judge Tammy Kemp brought a Bible into the courtroom... and handed it to [convicted killer] Guyger before delivering a powerful message about hope, redemption and life change. 'You just need a tiny mustard seed of faith. You start with this.'"
— Billy Hallowell, Fox News, 4 October 2019
"The Carters recognize that they are lucky. 'I can’t believe we made it,' Beyoncé sings repeatedly in 'Ape—.' In 'Black Effect,' Jay raps, 'Man, we started with a mustard seed. Now, we in the gray 911 with the mustard seats.'"
— Glenn Gamboa, Newsday, 18 June 2018
has this page helped you understand "mustard seed"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "mustard seed" without saying "tiny thing with vast potential" or "itty-bitty tidbit."
try it out:
In Far From the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy wrote:
"A great hope had latterly germinated in Boldwood, whose unreasoning devotion to Bathsheba could only be characterized as a fond madness which neither time nor circumstance, evil nor good report, could weaken or destroy. This fevered hope had grown up again like a grain of mustard-seed."
In other words, Boldwood's obsession with her started as something tiny, like a mustard seed, then germinated--grew like a plant--into something huge.
Talk about an interest or obsession of your own that started as a mustard seed.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for October is "Silly Smashings!"
In each issue this month, I'll give you the definition of a word I've concocted by smashing together two words we've studied before.
See if you can come up with the same silly smashing that I did.
For example, I'll say, "This noun means 'an extremely outdated, old-fashioned, ill-considered assumption that there are only two ways of dealing with a certain problem.'" And you'll say, "That's a troglodichotomy." (Which is a silly smashing of troglodyte and dichotomy.)
I'll list the answer at the bottom of each issue. Maybe your answer will match mine. Or maybe yours will be even better; if so, be sure to share it with me!
Try this one today:
This five-word noun phrase means "an amazing, powerful solution that seems to drop out of the sky to solve your extremely difficult problem of having been caught between two terrible options."
review this word:
A. FACETIOUS IDEA.
B. FRUITLESS IDEA.
C. FUNGIBLE IDEA.
2. Pope Francis wrote that organizations serving the poor are "a _____ that, like a mustard seed, will _____."
A. sprout .. bear much fruit
B. root .. spread deep into the soil
C. grain .. flavor and enrich it surroundings
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Our term mustard seed joins a list of metaphorical bits and pieces of plants and trees.
Mustard is made from the ground-up seeds of the mustard plant. They're tiny:
Part of speech:
We do talk literally about mustard seeds: "Add the mustard seeds to the pan."
"Judge Tammy Kemp brought a Bible into the courtroom... and handed it to [convicted killer] Guyger before delivering a powerful message about hope, redemption and life change. 'You just need a tiny mustard seed of faith. You start with this.'"
Explain the meaning of "mustard seed" without saying "tiny thing with vast potential" or "itty-bitty tidbit."
In Far From the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy wrote:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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